Comments Thread For: Agitated Arum: HBO, Showtime Don't Own the Boxing Business!

[original zero]

arum trying to create leverage where he has none.

it's over. haymon is starving off all of these promoters on HBO. it could take years, but there's no turning back. fighters come and go, but haymon controls the TV and haymon controls the belts.

[Eff Pandas]

Well, thats me. Call me old school, but I dont have a smartphone, and even if I did, I would have zero interest in staring at a small as screen like that. I like Watching Boxing on my big TV. I do have a laptop computer, but I only Stream PPV's, because Im not really technologically oriented, and if The Other Fights are avialable on some or the other channel (I dont care if its on HBO, SHO, ESPN, or food network for all I care), its just so much easier to sit in front of the big screen and tune to a channel, then to try and mess around on my computer trying to Watch things. So whatever Streaming system they invision doing in the future, I hope there's some analog, cord-based version for us old folks around too.

LOL fair enough. And like I said you probably aren't even in the minority with boxing fans feeling like you feel. I was simply making jokes so no offense intended for the record.

But for real boxing needs to consider appealing to a younger fanbase sooner or later & they do like watching stuff on their computer, their tablet & their phone more than a TV. I'm no tadpole, but I don't even own a TV. So I legit think its a problem that boxing doesn't appeal to younger fans, who've cut the cord years ago, as much as other sports or even MMA for a direct competitor for the combat sports dollar.

[Eff Pandas]

Fair point. Schools do Profit, though.

In fairness they only profit & pay for all the other sports a school offers usually cuz they fleece the student-athletes. The NCAA simply shows the potential success to be had with paying "employees" pennies on the dollar on their true value. So its hardly a realistic marketplace.

Thats all a whole other thread doe. My main point stands. College football isn't the top tier of football. The NFL is where the best football players in the world play at & where football as a sport gets championed like no where else.

[HAMMER77777]

LOL fair enough. And like I said you probably aren't even in the minority with boxing fans feeling like you feel. I was simply making jokes so no offense intended for the record.

But for real boxing needs to consider appealing to a younger fanbase sooner or later & they do like watching stuff on their computer, their tablet & their phone more than a TV. I'm no tadpole, but I don't even own a TV. So I legit think its a problem that boxing doesn't appeal to younger fans, who've cut the cord years ago, as much as other sports or even MMA for a direct competitor for the combat sports dollar.

No, its all good. If they want to do online stuff, fine. But there should be a TV option available as well. U can't go to A Bar, and have people Watching sports on their phones. U cant have a big Super Bowl Party at your house to Watch the game on a 7" screen, LOL. Why do we have movie theaters? U can probably Stream most films online. But there's something old school about Watching that film on a big screen. At least for me.
So ya, if they want to let people Watch on their computer and ****, thats Cool. But if I go to Applebees, and they have all their TV's tuned only to NBA, MLB, etc., then we wont reach the casual fans. Like I Said, when youre at The Bar eating Buffalo Wings with your buddies, u cant all be staring at a tiny screen. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. BTW, I'm in my late 30's, and am not good with technology. I just started using computers A Few Years Back, and I just recently got a flip phone when I moved out west. My parents are in their 70's though, and they have the latest I-this, and I-that LOL. Go figure. I guess technology skipped over me for some reason LOL!
I do use my computer for FB, web surfing, etc.. Its just that when I Watch Boxing, there's nothing like Watching them punches land on a 70" screen.

Let me also add that I appreciate your insight and commentary. You are very Knowledgeable about Boxing And I Learn a lot from your posts!

[HAMMER77777]

In fairness they only profit & pay for all the other sports a school offers usually cuz they fleece the student-athletes. The NCAA simply shows the potential success to be had with paying "employees" pennies on the dollar on their true value. So its hardly a realistic marketplace.

Thats all a whole other thread doe. My main point stands. College football isn't the top tier of football. The NFL is where the best football players in the world play at & where football as a sport gets championed like no where else.

Sure, its not the top tier, but colleges in general, are a business (many are for Profit). Sort of like minor league baseball. Certainly not the top tier by any stretch, yet even that single-A team, is still a business, trying to Win games, sell tickets, etc.. Each tier of minor league ball (A, AA, AAA), has its own playoff system as well, as does college baseball, so at each level, we Know which team is the best (at that level). Same with the NCAA basketball deal. At the end, the best teams (in college hoops) compete against the best teams. My point was, that until recently, we didnt even Know for sure which the best college football team was, because of a lack of a playoff system.

[The Gambler1981]

And like I said Bob was the first promoter to throw content on his own website when you could barely navigate some of these other major promoters websites. He might be old, but he either isn't THAT old or he takes advince from younger cats who got a good take on new & emerging areas where money can & will be made & Bob knows enough to take those opportunities.

Arum's business has been set to run by X, HBO has been paying X for a long time so Arum's whole set-up which has been set up over years with long term contracts he forces guys to work by.

If he is no longer able to get X but a fraction of X, he needs to take on risk if he hopes to get back to making Y per fight. Unless this service is willing to pay his prices, which I wouldn't think is viable then the only thing is for Arum to make up the difference keep the business going and hopefully the risk pays off and he is actually making a multiple of Y rather than a fraction or taking loses.

Any change involves risk inherently as well. Is Arum a bandwidth expert, are the arenas he is set up good with able to handle that kind of information outflows? Is he going to have to to hire more IT guys? Sure he has done some small scale streaming stuff but wanting to pull in major eyeballs is a totally different kettle of fish. The technology and people are around but how much money is Arum willing to pay for that kind of infrastructure and if he builds it out is he going to be able to use it enough to really recover the costs, or is he just going to farm it out?

That is not to say it can't come up aces for Arum but it is not an ABC thing. It is not lets stream boxing and count the money as it rolls in, there will be problems and is Arum going to be willing to weather the storm? Perhaps, Arum has a good roster and bankroll, so I am sure he wants to get through this phase and have his company set up to survive long term. However then you get into does DuBouf have the same pain threshold or the wherewithal to execute the later phases of the plan because even if Bob has a blood boy he is not going to last forever~

[Eff Pandas]

No, its all good. If they want to do online stuff, fine. But there should be a TV option available as well. U can't go to A Bar, and have people Watching sports on their phones. U cant have a big Super Bowl Party at your house to Watch the game on a 7" screen, LOL. Why do we have movie theaters?

I wouldn't suggest there shouldn't be a TV option for what its worth. I just think there should be more options that fit in with a younger audience. And don't worry there are gonna be TV's for awhile to come (cable is the thing that needs to worry). We already got the smart TV's that are internet capable for the cord cutters who prefer the TV experience from standard size to the 68+ inch screens & those are probably just gonna get more advanced & easier to use for less tech savvy people.

So you'll still be able to view things like you wanna view them. Primarily the streaming technology just spreads out your ability to watch things more often via a wider variety of devices.

I also believe streaming to simply be a superior technology over broadcast TV that is gonna beat out an inferior technology like happens all the time.

For example with regular TV they are sending out a signal & you are just able to watch what everyone else is watching. With streaming I'm in a 1 on 1 interface with the streaming provider that can allow me to make for a more interactive experience which can have me enjoying sports (or movies, tv shows or whatever I'm watching) more to my liking.

I can basically be a "director" of the event to whatever degree the provider has allowed me to be. For a specific example the UFC has a streaming service already for their own fights & other combat sports. And with there fights you can actually go from corner to corner between rounds to listen to whoever you wanna listen to. I'd love to be able to do that with boxing instead of listening to who HBO, Showtime or whoever has decided I should listen to & for how long. I'd also love to be able to turn off the commentators & still have the "sounds" of the fight & the crowd. I'd love to be able to pick my preferred camera angle & all sorts of other options like that. That's what streaming can make a reality for sports fans of any sport.

U can probably Stream most films online. But there's something old school about Watching that film on a big screen. At least for me.

Honestly I don't hate watching something on a big screen or going to the IMAX or just a regular theater from time to time. I used to be a huggggggge movie nerd back in the day so I've seen plenty of stuff on a obscenely sized TV & on the big screen. I just have a lot less desire & time for random TV/movie viewing these days. And my computer is a fine size for watching fights.

So ya, if they want to let people Watch on their computer and ****, thats Cool. But if I go to Applebees, and they have all their TV's tuned only to NBA, MLB, etc., then we wont reach the casual fans. Like I Said, when youre at The Bar eating Buffalo Wings with your buddies, u cant all be staring at a tiny screen. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. BTW, I'm in my late 30's, and am not good with technology. I just started using computers A Few Years Back, and I just recently got a flip phone when I moved out west. My parents are in their 70's though, and they have the latest I-this, and I-that LOL. Go figure. I guess technology skipped over me for some reason LOL!
I do use my computer for FB, web surfing, etc.. Its just that when I Watch Boxing, there's nothing like Watching them punches land on a 70" screen.

Let me also add that I appreciate your insight and commentary. You are very Knowledgeable about Boxing And I Learn a lot from your posts!

Thanks & yea I actually felt late to the computer party myself. I thought computers were nerd sh^t for the longest time. I started to play poker & got really good at it. Learned people played poker online. Purchased a computer about 9ish years ago & discovered this whole world that exists online & barely been offline since it seems lol.

[Eff Pandas]

Arum's business has been set to run by X, HBO has been paying X for a long time so Arum's whole set-up which has been set up over years with long term contracts he forces guys to work by.

If he is no longer able to get X but a fraction of X, he needs to take on risk if he hopes to get back to making Y per fight. Unless this service is willing to pay his prices, which I wouldn't think is viable then the only thing is for Arum to make up the difference keep the business going and hopefully the risk pays off and he is actually making a multiple of Y rather than a fraction or taking loses.

Well my assumption would be with all of this is if Arum feels he needs to make x for a deal to be viable he either gets x & makes the deal or he doesn't & doesn't make the deal. Arum is a fairly simple guy with a thing like that I believe. He's either gonna get what he deems himself worthy of & he's in or he won't get it & he's out. I can't imagine Bob would take a deal that would lose him money somehow.

Any change involves risk inherently as well. Is Arum a bandwidth expert, are the arenas he is set up good with able to handle that kind of information outflows? Is he going to have to to hire more IT guys?

I don't think Arum is holding the camera or anything. Idk why Arum would need to worry about bandwidth. Either Netflix or whoever would film the event or they'd be money allotted for hiring someone to film the event. It would seem they are doing that now on their website without any strategic partner to help get out their streaming content so it can't be that expensive or difficult.

Sure he has done some small scale streaming stuff but wanting to pull in major eyeballs is a totally different kettle of fish. The technology and people are around but how much money is Arum willing to pay for that kind of infrastructure and if he builds it out is he going to be able to use it enough to really recover the costs, or is he just going to farm it out?

Gotta start somewhere with this streaming thing. Everyone is gonna be going too it sooner or later. Its just a better technology that's more exposable to people beyond those who own TV's.

And yea I don't think Arum building some bigger streaming network is in the cards. He needs to connect himself to one of the players in this market if he's making a move. Its a legit risk for Arum to start TR Streaming or something like that. He's just a middleman in any strategic partner ship. Streaming network pays Arum, Arum finds fighters & pay them. Keeps the remaining amount for himself.

That is not to say it can't come up aces for Arum but it is not an ABC thing. It is not lets stream boxing and count the money as it rolls in, there will be problems and is Arum going to be willing to weather the storm? Perhaps, Arum has a good roster and bankroll, so I am sure he wants to get through this phase and have his company set up to survive long term. However then you get into does DuBouf have the same pain threshold or the wherewithal to execute the later phases of the plan because even if Bob has a blood boy he is not going to last forever~

Again I just can't for the life of me fathom how there is some "weathering of a storm" here. Hulu throws Arum x dollars for monthly fights lets say. Arum throws together a monthly card. He's doing the exact same thing he's doing with PPV, HBO, TruTV & UniMas or ESPN back in the day or anything else he could do with someone on "regular TV". Its just a different style of viewing boxing that has the ability to reach people via different devices & in more places primarily than something that's changing what Arum specifically does.

Arum doesn't have to learn about streaming himself, although it'd probably only help him if he did to come up with ways to further enhance his product like one can do with streaming, but its by no means something that would be necessarily required of him. But mainly I just think you aren't seeing how similar a streaming deal would be to a regular TV deal that Arum has done numerous times over the years.

[TOBYLEE1]

Arum should keep his mouth shut,

He who pays owns it. All these years milking them and now this BS

[NYG]

I never really understood the business part of boxing with the networks and **** so can somebody fill me in? Arum has been in the business for how long? And he's *****ing?